Rachel Schulte will be among the cast of "The Gingerbread Pimp," which ends this year's season of Musical Mondays at Curtain Call theater company in Stamford, Conn. The reading of the musical will be Monday, April 21, 2014. less

Rachel Schulte will be among the cast of "The Gingerbread Pimp," which ends this year's season of Musical Mondays at Curtain Call theater company in Stamford, Conn. The reading of the musical will be Monday, ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Jeffrey Wright will be among the cast of "The Gingerbread Pimp," which ends this year's season of Musical Mondays at Curtain Call theater company in Stamford, Conn. The reading of the musical will be Monday, April 21, 2014. less

Jeffrey Wright will be among the cast of "The Gingerbread Pimp," which ends this year's season of Musical Mondays at Curtain Call theater company in Stamford, Conn. The reading of the musical will be Monday, ... more

Photo: Contributed Photo

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'Musical Mondays' offers up a cautionary tale

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It's not all that often that a tale of emotional abuse gets set to music, but a recent work by playwright Molly Reynolds and composer Will Collyer changes the score. "I think people are ready for it," said Reynolds of the modern musical that is not afraid to broach such topics as mental illness ("Next to Normal"), the privatization of toilet facilities ("Urinetown") and a satirical look at pollution ("The Toxic Avenger"). "It keeps musical theater alive."

One may soon add "The Gingerbread Pimp" to that line-up. Reynolds' and Collyer's work will have a reading on Monday, April 21, at Curtain Call in Stamford. It is the final Musical Mondays offering for this season. Longtime Stamford resident Bill Squier, a board member for the nonprofit Curtain Call, launched Musical Mondays more than 10 years ago. The series presents smaller productions of new musicals to area audiences.

"The Gingerbread Pimp" introduces audiences to Coco, a young actress with low self-esteem issues and an older boyfriend (Charlie) who is intent on keeping her isolated from friends and family. He does this through manipulation and preying upon her insecurities. In the end, Coco learns the only way to break free is to actually get past her own insecurities.

"It was just really compelling," Squier said when asked about its selection for the series. "This was something that I had not seen translated into musical theater ... but, in the end, it is such a human story and that is what you look for in a musical -- something that touches a nerve."